The cash seizure in the tax searches against an Odisha-based distillery company owned by Congress MP Dhiraj Kumar Sahu’s family, reached Rs 355.5 crore on Sunday after five days of counting.
This unprecedented haul marks the largest single seizure ever made by any investigative agency in India, shattering all the previous records.
After the massive cash recovery, the Income Tax Department is now using high-tech gadgets to look for any gold jewellery that could be hidden below the ground at the premises linked to Mr Sahu.
Officials said the I-T teams are using the geo surveillance system – which helps detect the jewellery and other valuables hidden below the ground easily – at the two houses of Dhiraj Sahu in Ranchi and Lohardaga in Jharkhand.
“They found a lot of cash. The department is high-tech, so you can expect the latest available technology to be used in the searches to find moe gold,” the news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.
The raids were launched on December 6 on charges of tax evasion and “off-the-book” transactions.
The I-T Department suspects that the massive cache of cash unearthed during raids on Boudh Distilleries and associated entities represents unaccounted income generated from the sale of country liquor.
The BJP launched a powerful counter-offensive, aiming at the Congress and other opposition parties. Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that their prior accusations of the government misusing investigative agencies are now exposed as mere “propaganda,” driven by their fear of being held accountable for their alleged corruption.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured the public that “looted money” would be returned. The PM shared a Hindi newspaper report showing the mountains of cash recovered by the income tax department.
The Congress, meanwhile, has distanced itself from Dhiraj Sahu and said that it is not connected with the businesses in any way and that the MP should explain the cash and its source.
